Daily Digest: Earthy Hippies Having Coronaries Edition

Your Lockdown of the Day™ comes from Kansas City, Kansas. Wyandotte High School was placed on lockdown this morning following a report of a student with a gun. After a search of the school, police discovered an infrared thermometer that happened to have a laser pointer (you know, so you know what you’re measuring the temperature of). KSHB.com reports that “students were never in danger.” If you’re always made to feel like you’re in danger due to constant false alarms and overreactions, how would you know? [h/t Prairie Patriot]

From The Tactical Wire – According to David Codrea at the Examiner, a notice posted in the Federal Register April 15 (what timing!) appears to indicate that BATFE wants to take the multiple rifle sale requirement currently imposed by fiat on licensees in four border states and extend it nationwide. As it was almost unreported, few seem to know about it and the comment period ends in June. The report continues: “‘If you have additional comments especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact Natisha Taylor at fipb-informationcollection@atf.gov, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Firearms Industry Programs Branch, Washington, DC 20226,’ the Federal Register post advises.”

Dom Raso, whom you may recognize from the NRA spots he’s done, has a new web show called Media Lab. In his first episode, he breaks down the fight scene in the final scene of Jack Reacher. (That’s the movie where the diminutive Tom Cruise plays a character who is 6.5 feet tall and a solid 250# in the books. To his credit, you soon forget he’s so much smaller.) Although this first episode isn’t exactly gun related, the series looks like it could be interesting. [h/t ENDO]

The Yankee Marshal has a short review of a car-mounted holster from Grassburr Leather Works. This is the one I’ve been thinking about getting for my own car for quite some time, but have never quite gotten around to it. I really should stop procrastinating.
Yes, yes, I know he talks about leaving your gun in your car, and I know that “you should never do that.” Now that I’ve pointed it out, those of you who would have rushed to the comment section to point it out don’t have to. You’re welcome.

Have they removed all the references and pictures of ARMED soldiers from the textbooks yet? What kind of message does armed men send in our schools. Please contact your School District administrators and voice your concerns. It’s for the children.

While we have laws protecting us from employers firing us over having guns in our cars, or even ask if we do, we are left with the choice of going unarmed, violate employment rules (which could get you fired) or leave a gun in the car. Obviously it will be useless for anyone going postal in the office but at least you can get gas on the way home or do whatever with means of protection. Obviously don’t leave your car unlocked or stuff in plain sight but I don’t know how else to come to terms with the prospect of a paycheck from the job I love and still be able to pull into my garage at night without being in a position where I wish I had one and don’t in a time I when I needed it.

I don’t see the point in commenting on ATF rule changes. They get their orders from the White House and will enact whatever policy changes they’re told to enact. Comments from the peasants are only allowed to make us feel like we have a voice. It’s like how the cross-walk buttons aren’t actually connected to anything, they’re just there to make you feel like you aren’t waiting as long.

Nope, sorry, it doesn’t have to work that way. 500 people send the ATF an email telling them a) the change is unnecessary to their mission and b) the resulting database is illegal, since the original was only to exist for 180 days, then maybe they could ignore them. But if those 500 people cc:ed their local TV station and an Internet news outfit or two, the story becomes much different…

Do you really believe that a local news station would report that story? From a news producer’s viewpoint, it’s a snoozer. “Local Man Unhappy With Obscure ATF Rule Change”. Those CC’ed e-mails wouldn’t even get past the unpaid intern who reads them.

I really get tired of that meme. The idea that it does not matter which party is in control is simply false, especially when it comes to more gun laws.

Recent examples: Under the Republicans, the 94 Assault weapon ban was allowed to expire. It would never have happened under a Democrat administration.

All of the major federal gun bills were passed by Democrat administrations. The only reform/pushback that I recall under a Democrat administration occurred when the Republicans attached National Park carry to a bill that the Democrats desperately wanted, and President Obama wanted to sign.

Yes, there are RINO Republicans, especially if they have been there for a long time. But to claim that the parties are the same is simply, unalterably, wrong.

My normal practice is to jam my Remora down between the passenger seat and the center console, with the grip sticking up far enough that it’s grabbable. But that poses two problems for me: one, if someone’s in the passenger seat, it’s in their space (I drive a small sporty car), and two, it’s illegal. In Florida, guns are supposed be in a closed container without a carry permit. A closed container can be a glovebox, console, or a closed holster (zipped, or simply snapped). With a carry permit, things get a little looser, to the point that laying on the passenger seat covered by a newspaper or towel is arguably legal. But under no circumstances is my current “jam it between the seat and console” method legal.

I like the idea of this holster because I can put it just above my right knee on the side of the center stack (but not where my knee will hit it), and it’s still just as accessible as above, while being concealed from plain view by the center stack, the steering wheel, my knee, and the fact that it’s a black holster against a black interior. Oh, and the windows are tinted. The thumb snap holster meets the legal requirements for “securely encased,” too.

It’s rare that you find something that covers all the necessary bases that well, and as I said above, I don’t know why I keep procrastinating. Maybe I’ll throw up some pictures when I finally get it done.

I understand (not like, just understand) cased handgun laws, but somebody needs to explain to me the “logic” behind “it must be concealed.” Seems to the “logical” approach would be the opposite, that a LEO would want to be able to see it.

Aside: I just figured out my phone’s spacing problem, somehow it doesn’t like to put a space at the end of a line…

You shouldn’t (have to) leave your gun in your car. It’s a great way to get it stolen. But when the laws leave you the choice of either leaving it in your car or leaving it at home (or carrying illegally into places like the post office) I can’t fault people that much for the car.

I liked the Media lab show but it was too short. I was hoping it would be about 15 minutes of Dom deconstructing parts of the movie. I did enjoy Jack Reacher and kind of just ignored the size the character is supposed to be.

I heard about the local lock down and rolled my eyes on the way home from work. I expect more from Kansas. Oh I forgot, it was a school and they are brain free zones.

The increasing frequency of these stupid lockdowns is going to lead to what is called warning fatigue. Warning fatigue happens after repeated false alerts. People end up not taking the alert seriously and when something real happens response suffers. These lockdowns over empty boxes or spend brass are going cause police to be lackadaisical in their response. “On no, another paniced sissy principal”

The lockdowns over empty ammo boxes or spent brass are almost – almost, I said, but still stupid – understandable, but it’s the ones like this over a freakin’ thermometer or an umbrella that boggle the mind. The “boy who cried wolf’ syndrome you’re talking about is a real thing, and it’s going to catch someone out sooner or later if they don’t cool it with all the lockdowns over nothing.

Then again, many police departments do seem to really enjoy coming in hot with full tac gear and sirens on, so maybe their response times won’t suffer too much. Any excuse to roll out the MRAP and M4’s, right? All the more fun if they’re pretty sure it’s bullshit from the jump, and there’s not much chance of real risk involved.

This, in my school back in the day we would have absolutely worn administration and the police out. If the former didn’t break first the latter would eventually have cited them for false reports or something because we would have sprinkled brass everywhere. Then again, when and where I was in school pocket knives were common and certainly no cause for alarm, and during deer season the parking lot was full of shotguns visible in the racks of pickup trucks. I didn’t much do the hunting thing but typically had a .38 under the seat and a .22 rifle in the trunk. We never had a shooting or a stabbing, which if you listen to the anti’s, hardly seems possible given the proliferation of weapons.

Yup – I’m seeing it right now. Every couple of months I get an automated message from the school about some sort of “modified” lockdown occurring. The core issue is policy and suburbanite intrusion into a rural community. The schools have to call it in when some new ruralite overreacts. Messages have gone out about man with gun, gunshots heard, suspicious individual near school, suspicious vehicle seen near school, etc.

The school in question sits right next to a good sized farm that has animals and has been part of the community for decades. Sometimes the farmer has to use the tools of the trade to put down animals (sick/injured large animal, track coyote, whatever) or, in the case of a suspicious vehicle, bought a new beater truck to drive in the fields. In each case, the kids are subjected to policy, the Sheriff is called, etc.because of the school policy. This was not an issue up until more folks from suburbia decided to go live out in a rural community and are unwilling to learn about what life “out here” means so they drag along what they left.

a left hand IWB kydex holster clips nicely to a cup holder on the lower door in my 2011 ford fusion..and upon drawing the gun will clear the holster, as opposed to just pulling the holster off the door..

…if i ever found myself going somewhere that i wanted to have quick access to a gun while driving.

In other news Sesame Street was locked down today after reports of a nervous blue man waving a gun.
The street was later re-opened after Grover was shot and a bomb diffusing robot blew up the letter “L”.

An empty gun mount inside a car screams, “please break in and steal” like nothing short of a gun just left on the seat.
If you want to drive 1,000 miles a day in comfort(I’ve done it), get yourself a(ominous music here:Duh Dah Dum!) fanny pack. Worn in the 10 o’clock position over the seatbelt, you’ll never know it’s there, you can cross-draw easily, and if stopped and the trooper needs to know where your gun is, you can unstrap with the left hand and hand the whole thing to him. Best thing is, when you get out of the car, it comes with you.

When I’m not wearing it I typically just drop my primary EDC in the console. I have a console big enough to put half a dozen full size pistols in though. I leave nothing in the vehicle (or on the vehicle) to suggest their might be arms inside but there is always at least one gun in my vehicle, a Mossburg 500 that is a dedicated truck gun. The guns are replaceable, I’m not, I’d always rather the chance that they be stolen then my being without one when needed. Given the GFZs it’s not possible to both be armed everyday and never leave a gun in your car.

The BATFE rule change is worthy of a post by itself. This shouldn’t get lost in the chatter. My question to anyone that will listen about this is, isn’t this against the law? (i.e. Didn’t the law requiring reporting such purchases of handguns strictly forbid this sort of reporting for long-guns?) So the BATFE is asking for comments on whether it’s alright for them to break the law? If ever there was a group that should be required to follow the law, it’s the BATFE….